Device for holding down the rail to the sleeper in a railway track

ABSTRACT

The improved device consists of an elastic fastening made of spring steel rod. The rod is bent to form a loop portion which rides over and sits on the bottom flange of the rail. The two ends of the loop are bent downwardly thus providing humps. Then the ends of the same rod after bending downwardly are shaped each into a coil. The ends of the coil then project towards the loop and lie within the loop. These projections form legs. This elastic fastening is secured to the sleeper by a securing device such that the loop rides and sits on the bottom flange of the rail. The legs are forced down by the securing device such that the ends of the legs bear against the edge of the foot, i.e. the bottom flange of the rail. The loop thus holds down or presses the rail while the legs bearing against the foot of the rail help to maintain the gauge of the rail.

United States Patent Bhaskaran Nair [54] DEVICE FOR HOLDING DOWN THERAIL TO THE SLEEPER IN A RAILWAY TRACK [72] inventor: Padiniarai-MadomNarayanan Nair Bhaskaran Nair, Research Designs & StandardsOrganization, Lucknow, India [22] Filed: Dec. 9, 1970 [2|] Appl. No.:96,435

[52] US. Cl .238/349 [5 1] Int. Cl. ..E0lb 9/48 [58] Field of Search..238/349, 310, 338

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,980,336 4/1961 Doll..238/349 3,436,() l 8 4/ l 969 Alexander ..23 8/349 2,480,388 8/1949Sonneville ..238/349 Oct. 10, 1972 [57] ABSTRACT The improved deviceconsists of an elastic fastening made of spring steel rod. The rod isbent to form a loop portion which rides over and sits on the bottomflange of the rail. The two ends of the loop are bent downwardly thusproviding humps. Then the ends of the same rod after bending downwardlyare shaped each into a coil. The ends of the coil then project towardsthe loop and lie within the loop. These projections form legs. Thiselastic fastening is secured to the sleeper by a securing device suchthat the loop rides and sits on the bottom flange of the rail. The legsare forced down by the securing device such that the ends of the legsbear against the edge of the foot, i.e. the bottom flange of the rail.The loop thus holds down or presses the rail while the legs bearingagainst the foot of the rail help to maintain the gauge of the rail.

3 Clains, 4 Drawing Figures DEVICE FOR HOLDING DOWN THE RAIL TO THESLEEPER IN A RAILWAY TRACK The device has for its object to press therail and at the same time to maintain the gauge of the two rails in thetrack. The device will absorb vibrations caused in the rail when thetrain passes over the rail track.

PRIOR ART In order to absorb the vibrations in the rail track it isknown to use a sole pad of rubber or similar material placed between therail and the sleeper which pad provides an elastic vibration absorbantseating.

It has also been proposed to use elastic fastenings of different types.In one form this comprises a plate forming an upper leg, which is thenbent to form a lower leg, the upper leg being adapted to hold down thefoot of the rail, the lower leg providing an elastic sideways check onthe rail, both the said legs being secured to the sleeper through abolt.

Another type of elastic fastening comprises a clamp of resilientmaterial which consists of three portions of which one portion exerts abearing pressure on the upper surface of the bottom flange on one sideof the rail, while another portion exerts a bearing pressure on theupper surface of the bottom flange on the opposite side of the rail.Then there is a third portion which with the fastener under the state ofstress is adapted to be engaged by a pin inserted in a hole in thesleeper.

Another know type of such fastening is a British type called PANDROL(Trademark) which comprises a single looped bar forming two legs and aloop, substantially like the formation of the letter C with its endsextended. The curved portion is seated on the foot of the rail to holddown the rail, one leg thereof engaging a bore in a lug or protrusionformed with the sleeper, the second leg being free and kept on thesleeper.

Another known type comprises a clamp having a curved member with itsfree ends bent to embrace or grip the foot of the rail, said curvedmember being secured to the sleeper by passing the same round a pegfitted on the side of the sleeper.

According to this invention the device for holding down the rail to thesleeper in a railway track comprises an elastic fastening formed from aspring steel rod bent to form a main loop to function as a pressingmember when mounted on the upper surface of the bottom flange on oneside of the rail, the ends of the rod beyond the said main loop beingthen bent downwardly of the plane of the main loop and further bentupwardly to form vertically disposed complete coils, the extensions ofthe said coils being then bent down to form legs to bear directlyagainst the edge of the foot of the rail, whereby the lateral forces areelastically transmitted from the rail through the legs to the sleepervia the coils and means for securing the elastic fastening to the railsleeper comprise a body having sloping surfaces over which the legs ofthe elastic fastening are constrained to slide over to engage recessesformed in the said body, the recesses being in a plane that whenoccupied by the legs, the said legs are depressed and bear against theedge of the rail flange in which state the main loop exerts downwardpressure on the foot of the rail to hold the said rail firmly againstthe sleeper and the legs butt or bear against the foot of the rail tomaintain the gauge of the track and to absorb the lateral forces.

The invention will now be more fully described with reference to theaccompanying drawings which illustrate one preferred embodiment ofcarrying out the invention:

FIG. 1 shows in perspective the elastic fastening without securingdevice;

FIG. 2 shows end view of the device of FIG. I fitted on a rail laid on asleeper;

FIG. 3 shows in perspective the elastic fastening device with thesecuring device as fitted on a rail;

FIG. 4 shows end view of an alternative form of securing device and alsoshows the legs of the fastening device being forced in position of use.

Referring to the drawings, the elastic fastening is made of spring steelrod of round section bent to form a main loop C in the shape of a horseshoe which will sit over the foot or bottom flange on one side of therail R and function as a pressing member. When in use, the said mainloop C rides over the bottom flange and is in a plane which forms anacute angle with the foot of the rail.

The ends of the said main loop are then bent downwardly to form humps Hand then coiled as indicated by D and B. These coils may extend abovethe plane of the main loop, being in a substantially vertical plane asshown. The ends of the coils are then turned towards the main loop tolie within the region of the main loop. These are in the form of legsmarked F and G. In the stressed condition these legs are disposed belowthe plane of the main loop C, as shown in FIG. 2 so that the ends of thesaid legs F and G can bear against the edge of the foot of the rail Rand maintain the gauge of the track. The legs F and G lie within theregion of the main loop and are spaced from each other and are securedto the rail by a device shown in one of the FIGS. 3 and 4.

The securing device used in combination with the fastening devicecomprises a body T having a jaw with two downwardly sloping surfaces Uleading to a narrow mouth and beyond the said mouth are formed recessesV. The legs F and G are forced down the sloping surfaces by anyconvenient fonn of tool. The legs are constrained to slip down throughthe narrow mouth and then push out in which process the said legs engagerecesses V.

In the securing device shown in FIG. 4, the device comprises a body Zwith mushroom head shaped section having outwardly sloping surfaces Wapproaching recesses V in which the legs F and G finally rest.

When the legs occupy the recesses in the body T or Z, the said legs arein a plane that they bear against the edge of the foot of the rail. Inthis position, the legs are depressed and the main loop exerts downwardpressure on the foot of the rail to hold the said rail firmly againstthe sleeper.

In both the cases, FIGS. 3 and 4, the legs slide over the slopingsurfaces and whereas in the device of FIG. 3, the legs F and G areforced together, in the case of FIG. 4, the legs are forced apart beforegetting seated finally in the recesses V.

The main loop C will exert a toe load on the rail of about 800ml,000k.g. and even with the action of the rail vibrations, the toe loadof the loop C on the rail is maintained fairly constant as thevibrational amplitudes are comparatively of a small magnitude withreference to its own toe load deflection.

The provision of the loops D and E enables a greater deflection for thesame toe load which is beneficial both from the point of view of widertolerances in manufacture as well as from the point of view ofminimizing the vertical stresses which essentially provides for longerfatigue life.

in the stressed condition, the forward ends of the legs F and G takecare of the occasional lateral forces developed in the rail by thepassage of the train. These lateral forces are elastically transmittedthrough the loops on to the prepared surface P of the sleeper S housingthe heel N.

In track circuited sections requiring insulating liners between thedevice and the rail, the main loop will ride over the liner placed onthe foot of the rail while the legs will butt against the edge of therail through the said liner.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for holding down the rail to the sleeper in a railway trackcomprising an elastic fastening formed from a spring steel rod bent toform a main loop to function as a pressing member when mounted on theupper surface of the bottom flange on one side of the rail, the ends ofthe rod beyond the said main loop being then bent downwardly of theplane of the main loop and further bent upwardly to form verticallydisposed complete coils, the extensions of the said coils being thenbent down to form legs to bear directly against the edge of the foot ofthe rail, whereby the lateral forces are elastically transmitted fromthe rail through the legs to the sleeper via the coils, and means forsecuring the elastic fastening to the rail sleeper comprise a bodyhaving sloping surfaces over which the legs of the elastic fastening areconstrained to slide over to engage recesses formed in the said body,the recesses being in a plane that when occupied by the legs, the saidlegs are depressed and bear against the edge of the rail flange, inwhich state the main loop exerts downward pressure on the foot of therail to hold the said rail firmly against the sleeper and the legs buttor bear against the foot of the rail to maintain the gauge of the trackand to absorb the lateral forces.

2. A device of claim 1 in which the securing device used in combinationwith the fastening device comprises a body having a jaw with twodownwardly sloping surfaces leading into a narrow mouth and beyond thesaid mouth are formed recesses and wherein when the legs are forced downthe sloping surfaces, the said legs are constrained to slip down throughthe narrow mouth and then push out in which process the said legs engagethe recesses, and when the legs occupy the recesses in the body, thesaid legs are in a plane that they bear against the edge of the foot ofthe rail.

3. A device of claim 1 in which the securing device comprises a bodyhaving a head with two oppositely disposed outwardly sloping surfacesapproaching recesses in which the legs of the elastic fastener finallyrest, and when the legs occupy the recesses in the body, the legs are ina plane that they bear against the edge of the foot of the rail.

1. A device for holding down the rail to the sleeper in a railway trackcomprising an elastic fastening formed from a spring steel rod bent toform a main loop to function as a pressing member when mounted on theupper surface of the bottom flange on one side of the rail, the ends ofthe rod beyond the said main loop being then bent downwardly of theplane of the main loop and further bent upwardly to form verticallydisposed complete coils, the extensions of the said coils being thenbent down to form legs to bear directly against the edge of the foot ofthe rail, whereby the lateral forces are elastically transmitted fromthe rail through the legs to the sleeper via the coils, and means forsecuring the elastic fastening to the rail sleeper comprise a bodyhaving sloping surfaces over which the legs of the elastic fastening areconstrained to slide over to engage recesses formed in the said body,the recesses being in a plane that when occupied by the legs, the saidlegs are depressed and bear against the edge of the rail flange, inwhich state the main loop exerts downward pressure on the foot of therail to hold the said rail firmly against the sleeper and the legs buttor bear against the foot of the rail to maintain the gauge of the trackand to absorb the lateral forces.
 2. A device of claim 1 in which thesecuring device used in combination with the fastening device comprisesa body having a jaw with two downwardly sloping surfaces leading into anarrow mouth and beyond the said mouth are formed recesses and whereinwhen the legs are forced down the sloping surfaces, the said legs areconstrained to slip down through the narrow mouth and then push out inwhich process the said legs engage the recesses, and when the legsoccupy the recesses in the body, the said legs are in a plane that theybear against the edge of the foot of the rail.
 3. A device of claim 1 inwhich the securing device comprises a body having a head with twooppositely disposed outwardly sloping surfaces approaching recesses inwhich the legs of the elastic fastener finally rest, and when the legsoccupy the recesses in the body, the legs are in a plane that they bearagainst the edge of the foot of the rail.